A Reason to Stay
by almostmissingyou
Summary: ONESHOT “Give me a reason not to go. One good reason, and I’ll stay. But you can’t give me a reason, can you?” Lilly is leaving. Can Joe convince her to stay? Loe


**So while I was writing "If Cupid Had a Heart" a plot bunny struck and it wouldn't leave me alone. So here's a long oneshot. It's vaguely inspired by a Dawson's Creek episode where Joey has a chance to go to Paris and drama ensues…So I hope you guys enjoy!**

**HMHMHMHMHM**

16 year-old Lilly Truscott was incredibly excited. Her dad was moving to France, and he wanted her to come with him! At first, she was really torn between going or staying in Malibu with her mom and all of her best friends. If she did go, she'd be spending her last two years of high school in a foreign country. But living in France had always been a dream of hers. She loved everything about the country…the language, the food, the boys…And most importantly, she didn't know if she'd ever have an opportunity like this again. So she decided to go…and she was leaving in a week.

Miley and Oliver were stunned that Lilly would even consider going…at first. But they knew how important this was to her and eventually they were almost excited as she was about leaving. Sure, they would miss her, but the Oken and Stewart families had already made plans to go to Paris for Christmas so that the three kids could celebrate together.

She had yet to tell her other best friends, as they were out traveling the country for their sold-out tour. They were the Jonas Brothers, and it seemed like they were always busy. But ever since they had found out Miley's secret two years ago (by accident) Miley, Oliver, Lilly and the brothers were pretty much inseparable. And from that friendship, Lilly slowly fell in love with Joe Jonas. She didn't know how he felt about her, but she knew that the one thing that would make her stay in Malibu was if he felt the same way.

She had known about going to France pretty much all summer, but the boys had left before she found out so they still didn't know. She wondered how they would take it. They probably weren't as attached to her as Miley and Oliver were, so she thought they'd take it a little better. But she wanted to tell them face-to-face. They knew she had something big to tell them because she told them that several times over the phone (she called all three boys pretty much every day), but they also knew that they woudn't find out until they got back home. Which was today. She was nervous about telling them, but at the same time she was excited, too. She was sure they'd be happy for her.

**HMHMHMHMHM**

The boys were lounging around Miley's living room, waiting for Lilly, Oliver and, of course, Miley to get there. They boys were currently speculating about what Lilly's big news was.

"Maybe she's telling us that she's won the lottery," Kevin guessed. "That's big news."

"Yeah, but she could probably tell us that over the phone," Nick stated.

"Oh! I got it! She's going to tell us that she has a secret identity, too! Except instead of being a multi-platinum popstar, she's really a superhero, like Wonder Woman! Or Claire from _Heroes_." Nick and Kevin just looked at Joe. "Hey, it could happen!"

Nick grinned slyly. "Or…she could be telling us that she met the love of her life and she's getting married!" He knew Joe had a crush on Lilly. So did Kevin. So did pretty much everyone else in the world except for Lilly. Joe just wouldn't admit it.

And Joe's face at the moment was absolutely priceless. He had gone completely still, not to mention totally white. His mouth dropped open, then he scowled. "That's not funny," Joe growled.

"I thought it was!" Kevin chimed in.

"Well you know what? You can all just – " But before Joe could finish his sentence, Lilly, Miley and Oliver walked in. Lilly immediately ran to Joe and threw her arms around him.

"Joe! Kevin! Nick! I'm so glad your back! I missed you guys so much!" Lilly exclaimed while hugging Joe. Then she moved on to Kevin and Nick. Oliver and Miley greeted the boys in much the same way (although Oliver wasn't as exuberant with the hugging).

"I missed you, too, Lilly," Joe said. He blushed as he quickly added, "And Miley and Oliver." Joe was pretty sure he heard Oliver trying to choke back a laugh.

"So what's your big news?" Kevin asked.

"Please don't tell us you met the love of your life and you're getting married!" Joe blurted out before he could stop herself. Lilly tilted her head and raised an eyebrow.

"No, it's not anything like that," Lilly reassured him. Joe sighed in relief. He was glad it wasn't that. But her 'big news' was almost worse. His heart stopped at the next words that left her mouth.

"You know how much I love France, right?" Lilly asked. The boys nodded. "Well, my dad's moving there. And I'm going with him. To live."

Her pronouncement was met with silence. Kevin looked happy for her, Nick looked excited but sad and Joe…Joe just looked upset.

"When do you leave?" he asked.

"In a week."

Joe closed his eyes and willed the pain in his heart to go away.

"A week," he repeated. He opened his eyes and Lilly bit her lip and nodded. His heart clenched. He wanted to cry, he wanted to scream, he wanted to shake her and demand that she stay. But he didn't.

Instead, he stormed out of the house without a word.

**HMHMHMHM**

The second Joe left, Lilly's expression crumbled and she burst out crying. Of all the reactions she had expected, Joe just getting up and silently leaving the room was not one of them. As soon as the tears started, the four remaining occupants of the room all moved towards her to offer comfort, but Lilly shook her head and ran up to Miley's room, slamming the door shut. She was leaving in a week and the guy she loved hated her. Would he even say goodbye?

**HMHMHMHM**

Kevin watched as Lilly ran upstairs. He shook his head sadly, knowing that both his brother and the girl he considered a sister were in such pain. He still couldn't believe she was leaving. It was so sudden. He understood why she waited to tell them in person, but it definitely would have been nice to have some time to adjust to the thought of life without Lilly.

Oh God, Joe must be hurting. Kevin knew what it was like to have someone you like move away. It was like someone ripping your heart out and stomping on it. And for Lilly to have chosen to leave…that must have made it even worse.

"What was that?" Miley demanded, obviously referring to Joe.

"He loves her, Miles. You know that," Nick said wearily. "Everyone knows that. Except maybe Lilly."

"But that was absolutely no reason for him to act the way he just did! Do you even _know_ how much he hurt her just now?" Miley still sounded angry.

"Oh probably about as much as she just hurt him," Nick snapped.

Miley opened her mouth to retort, but she couldn't. Tears formed in her eyes. Nick got up and put his arms around her. "It'll work itself out, Miley. Don't worry about it. It's just…it was a complete shock to his system. All throughout the tour, he was talking about how much he missed her and how he couldn't wait to get back to spend time with her. He was even saying that we should stop doing concerts that were far away because he wanted to spend more time with her. And now he knows that he doesn't have that."

"She told me that she'd stay if he asked her to," Miley whispered. "If he told her that he needed her, if he asked her to stay _for him_, that she'd stay. And…that's what I've been hoping for, too. I don't want to lose my best friend, Nick. I can't." She sobbed into his arms.

"Shh, it's okay. It'll all be okay." Nick kissed the top of her head and held her as she cried.

Kevin watched them sadly. He knew they were all sad about Lilly leaving. He noticed Oliver getting up and moving towards the steps. Kevin caught his eye and shook his head. "I'll go," he said. Olliver nodded and sat back down, staring into space.

Kevin ascended the stairs and knocked on the door to Miley's room. He didn't know if Lilly heard him, but he could definitely hear her sobbing. He decided to just walk in, and the sight that greeted him just broke his heart. Lilly lay across Miley's bed, her face buried in a pillow, her entire body was shaking with sobs. He sat next to her on the bed and reached out to stroke her hair. For a while the two stayed that way, Lilly crying and Kevin offering what comfort he could. After a bit, Lilly's crying slowed and she sat up.

"Does he hate me, Kevin?" She whispered.

"No, no doesn't. He's just confused right now," Kevin said soothingly. "This is really big news…he just needs some time to adjust, that's all."

"But I don't have time, Kevin. I leave in a week!" Tears built up in her eyes again and she asked him, "Do you hate me, Kevin? For wanting to go?"

"Lilly, I could never hate you! You know that. And I know that this means a lot to you, and this is a great opportunity! Honestly, I'd probably be mad if you didn't take it," Kevin admitted. "Of course I'm sad you'll be gone, but I fully expect you to write every week and call at least once a month and I know we'll chat online every once in a while. Don't think you'll get rid of me that easily!"

Lilly giggled and gave him a hug. "I'll miss you, big brother."

"I'll miss you, too, my lil' Lilly," Kevin whispered. "I'll miss you a lot. But we don't have to start missing each other for another week, so what do you say we do something tomorrow? See a movie? Go bowling? Hang at the beach? Or, if you really want to, Nick and I will even go shopping with you." Kevin shuddered and Lilly giggled again.

"I'd like that," Lilly said with a genuine smile. And feeling better, she and Kevin went downstairs where they spent a couple of hours laughing, talking and planning how they were going to spend the next week. Lilly may have been leaving, but they were going to make the most of their time together.

**HMHMHMHM**

Joe lay in his bed, head resting on his arms and staring up at the ceiling. She was leaving. How could she be leaving? Leaving her friends, her mom…him? It hurt too much to think about. He knew that he should be happy for her. This was her dream! But her realizing his dream took away one of his own. He wasn't sure how long he lay there. All he knew was that it still hurt just as much now as it did when he lay down.

Nick burst through the door of Joe's room. "What were you thinking?" Nick shouted. "She was pretty much a complete wreck after you left! Is that what you wanted?"

"Why thank you, Nicholas, I'm holding up well," Joe said sarcastically. "The girl I love is moving out of the country, but I think I'm handling it okay. Sure it feels like my heart has been physically ripped out of my chest, but that's nothing new."

"Cut the crap, Joe," Nick snapped.

"Get out of my room, Nick," Joe said quietly. "I don't want to fight, I don't want to think, I don't want to do anything. Just…leave."

"I don't care what you want me to do," Nick snarled. "You're calling up Lilly to apologize-"

"Nick," Kevin said firmly. "Leave Joe alone."

Nick looked affronted. "No! Not until-"

"Nicholas," Kevin's tone was dangerously calm. "Out." Nick open and shut his mouth a few times, glared at his oldest brother and left.

"Thanks, Kevin/" Joe was never more grateful than he was in that moment to his older brother. "Can you close the door on your way out?"

Kevin smiled. "Just because I sent Nick away doesn't mean that we aren't going to talk, little bro."

Joe groaned. "Please just yell at me and get it over with."

"I'm not here to yell at you. Although after seeing Lilly after you left, I was tempted. How are you feeling?"

"Like crap, thanks for asking."

"If it'll make you feel any better, Lilly's probably feeling the same way," Kevin interjected.

"Not helping here.," Joe said, glaring.

"You know you need to talk to her."

"No, no I don't think I do."

"She's leaving in a week, bro. You'll regret it if you don't." And with that, Kevin left the room, closing the door gently behind him. Ugh. Joe hated it when he was right. He did need to talk to Lilly. But he just wasn't ready yet.

**HMHMHMHMHM**

Six days later, Joe still wasn't ready. He hadn't seen Lilly, or talked to her since that afternoon and he could see that Kevin was disappointed in him. He hated disappointing his brother, but it just hurt too much. Nick wasn't talking to him. Neither were Miley or Oliver. But Kevin let him know every time they were going to hang out with Lilly and invited him to come. He just sat all day in his room, trying to ignore everything and everyone.

She was leaving in tomorrow. And he didn't know if he could ever muster up the courage to talk to her. Unfortunately, that choice was taken out of his hands. There was a knock on the door. Joe mumbled something that kind of sounded like "come in" and Kevin entered.

"Lilly's here," he said quietly.

"N-n-now?" Joe stuttered. He really wasn't ready. Could he handle this? Apparently it was too late.

"I'm sending her up," Kevin informed him. Joe just nodded, trying to prepare himself to see her again.

She entered the room a few minutes later, looking vulnerable, scared, and more beautiful than he had ever seen her. "Hi," she said softly.

"Why are you here?" he asked. He hadn't meant for it to be the first thing out of his mouth when he saw her, but somehow the connection between his brain and his mouth was malfunctioning.

She recoiled as if "I-I wanted to see one of my best friends. I haven't seen you since…well I haven't seen you in a while. And I just wanted to spend time with you before I leave. Tomorrow. I thought maybe we could talk."

"What is there to talk about?" Joe asked harshly. "You're leaving. End of story." Yeah, there was that faulty connection at work. All he really wanted to tell her was that he was sorry and

She closed her eyes tightly and her lips trembled. "Is that all you have to say? I'm moving to another country and that's all you have to say?"

At his lack of response, she gave a disgusted sigh and got up to leave.

"No! Wait!" Joe called after her. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Joe, I don't know what to do anymore. You won't come see me, you don't talk to me anymore, and when I come to see _you_, you act like I'm this…this disgusting bug you really want to squash. You're one of my best friends, Joe. And I-I love you. But-"

"Stay."

"What?"

"Stay. Don't go. Just…stay here in Malibu, with your mom and your friends and – just stay."

"Why?" Lilly asked. Unless he was imagining things, he thought he might have seen something like hope light her eyes.

"I-what? Because…because…" Joe trailed off, unable to say anything else. Lilly looked disappointed.

"Give me a reason not to go. One good reason, and I'll stay," Lilly whispered. He didn't understand. What was she looking for. He cast around for something to say. Anything. "You can't give me a reason, can you?" She turned to go, once again.

"Lilly, wait!" She turned to face him, a mixture of hope and defeat in her eyes. "I-I'll miss you."

"Does this mean you aren't coming to say goodbye tomorrow?" Joe didn't say anything because he still didn't know. He didn't know if he was strong enough. "I guess this is goodbye, then. Bye, Joe. I'll miss you." With that, she gave him a hug and walked out of his life.

And he knew that he would regret it forever.

**HMHMHMHM**

Ever since leaving the Jonas house yesterday, Lilly had been completely down. Most people contributed to the fact that she was leaving all her best friends behind, but Kevin knew that it also had a lot to do with Joe. He really could have killed his brother.

He was standing at the airport with Lilly and her mom, Oliver, and Nick, who was holding a sobbing Miley. Lilly was leaning on her mom for support and both of them were also crying. Even Oliver had shed a few tears and Kevin felt the sting of tears.

Lilly had said her goodbyes numerous times and now it was time for her to go to her gate. She gave everyone one last hug, lingering on Miley.

"I'll call you every week, Miles, and we'll talk online and I'll send e-mails…you'll hear from me so much, you'll be sick of me!" Lilly whispered. Miley gave a teary laugh. "Bye, bestie."

As Lilly turned to enter the security checkpoint, Miley called out to her again. "Wait, Lilly! What about Joe? He isn't here yet. He needs to say goodbye!"

Lilly smiled sadly. "He isn't coming. We've both said everything that needs to be said."

Miley ran up to her and hugged her again. "He's a jerk. Find lots of cute Parisian boys, okay?" The blond girl gave her an extra squeeze and disappeared behind the security barriers.

And she was gone.

**HMHMHMHM**

Lilly had been gone for a month, and Joe had been in hell. Nick and Oliver still weren't talking to him. Miley was openly hostile, and Kevin was quietly sympathetic. It hurt knowing that Lilly contacted everyone else but him, although he did know that he brought it on himself. He knew she called Miley and Oliver once a week. A couple of weeks ago she called Kevin and Nick. He didn't ask to talk to her, and he assumed that she didn't ask to talk to him, either.

He tried to stop thinking about her, but she was everywhere he went. Every time he went to a mall, he thought about how much fun Lilly had there; at concerts he always remembered the first time they met backstage at a Jonas Brothers concert; even driving down the street, he'd see a skateboarder and his mind would see her. He wasn't even free of her in his own home. Every room contained a memory, of movie nights, hanging out, doing homework, playing video games…everything reminded him of her, and how much he wanted her to be there with him.

Today was harder than most days because it was Lilly and Joe Day. They had declared it Lilly and Joe day last year, when they were being silly, and had marked it in their calendars. They weren't sure what they were supposed to do on Lilly and Joe day, just that they had to spend the day together. And here he was spending it without her. Without anybody, really, because the entire family was out doing something else…he couldn't remember what. It had nothing to do with Lilly so he really didn't care.

The doorbell rung, so he went to answer the door. He opened it and there stood…Miley?

"Uh…hi," Joe said awkwardly. She didn't looked pleased to be there. "Um, Nick isn't here."

"I know," she said sullenly. "I'm here to see you."

"Huh?" was Joe's eloquent response.

"Lilly wanted me to give you this. I guess she wants you and me to start talking again, and she thought that making me come talk to you would help." She held out a folded note. "She sent it through snail-mail and made me promise to give it to you, so…here you go."

She turned to leave, but he had to ask. "Miley, why do you hate me so much? We used to be friends…"

Miley looked at him and he could see the tears forming in her eyes. "You could have made her stay."

"I don't get it. How?" This seemed to make Miley incredibly angry.

"All you had to do was tell her that you needed her, that you loved her and that you needed her to stay. And don't bother to deny it. Everyone knows that you loved her…that you still love her but you couldn't say it and you made her leave," Miley shouted through her tears.

Joe reached out and gave her a hug, tears stinging his own eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I miss her and it kills me and I'm just sorry."

Miley left a few minutes later and Joe opened Lilly's note with shaking hands.

_Dear Joe,_

_Happy Lilly and Joe Day! I'm hoping that by the time you get this, we'll be friends again and all of the drama will be behind us. Despite everything, I miss you a lot and maybe it's selfish, but I hope you miss me, too! You'd better:) But seriously, I just wanted to say sorry for getting angry at you before I left and I hope that you and I can put it all behind us and be friends again. We were way too amazing together to let our friendship go. So, friend, I'm hoping that you'll call me on Lilly and Joe Day, and I promise I'll call you on Joe and Lilly Day! I don't know what day that is, yet, but we'll figure it out. But I hope you call me and keep in touch! My number is at the bottom of the page, and I'm pretty sure you have my e-mail address. So you'd better call me/e-mail! Miss you!_

_Lots of love,_

_Lilly_

Joe didn't realize he was crying until he saw a tear fall on Lilly's letter. Shakily, he checked the time and saw it was noon. That made it 9:00pm in Paris…not too late to call. He picked up the phone, dialed and waited.

"Hi, Lilly? It's Joe."

**HMHMHMHM**

**So this story was originally going to be longer, but I felt that this was a good place to end. I may or may not write a follow-up, but I'm not sure yet. And sorry about any typos or really bad grammar/spelling. I'm typing this up at two in the morning and I'm too tired to proofread. But I really want to post it now, so…sorry about any errors.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed the story! And I hope you review!**

**(and for those of you interested in chapter four of "If Cupid Had a Heart", that should be up really soon, if it isn't already up by the time you're reading this!)**

**Thanks for reading!**

**-v**


End file.
